RIYADH — Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said on Tuesday at the Future Investment Initiative that despite the difficult crisis Saudi Arabia is currently passing through, the Kingdom is going through a phase of great and unprecedented transformation and noted that the attendance of international leaders in the field of oil indicates trust in the Kingdom.

“This heavy attendance of international leaders in the field of oil and gas today is proof of the great trust in the Kingdom’s status,” Al-Falih said.

He also directly thanked CEO of Total Patrick Pouyanné for attending the conference and said he was glad that Pouyanné “is a strategic partner of the Kingdom.”

He added that the heavy attendance of leaders from the UAE is evidence of the unity between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In terms of energy, Al-Falih said: “The energy sector has witnessed excessive investment at the beginning of this decade and this is what led to disruption hence requiring OPEC’s (particularly Saudi Arabia’s and Russia’s) intervention and firm cooperation, and we’ve succeeded in regaining trust in how the future of the oil industry will be.”

Al-Falih, who noted that there is a large increase in the investment of shale oil production by the US, said there would always be producers who work to prevent oil prices’ fluctuation that threatens the markets.

He added that oil and gas will continue to occupy two thirds of the energy mix during the next four or five decades. — Al-Arabiya